Little Gem Wedge Salad with Bacon, Blue Cheese, and Warm Garlic Croutons
I’m a big fan of a classic steak house wedge salad but.. why use watery iceberg lettuce when you could use something so much better? Little Gem lettuce is a hybrid of romaine and butter lettuce and makes the perfect vessel for creamy blue cheese dressing, crispy bacon, and warm garlic croutons!
If you’ve never tried little gem lettuce before this is your sign! It’s the perfect base for this wedge salad which is hearty enough to be a full meal all on its own. If you can’t find little gem lettuce use romaine instead and discard the outer leaves and just use the tender hearts.
If you like this salad recipe you may also want to check Frisée Salad with Bacon, Croutons, and Poached Egg!
Ingredients You’ll Need:
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this Little Gem Wedge Salad: Little Gem lettuce, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, day-old bread, whole milk Greek yogurt, vinegar, olive oil, blue cheese (Point Reyes is my favorite!), garlic, chives, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and radish.
INGREDIENT NOTES AND SUBSTITUTIONS:
- Little Gem Lettuce: Use romaine if you can’t find Little Gem.
- Blue Cheese: Feta or Goat Cheese will work.
- Chives: Scallions may be substituted for chives.
- Yogurt: Sour cream or creme fraiche.
- Bacon: Turkey bacon or you can skip the bacon altogether if you prefer a vegetarian salad.
- Optional salad add ons: avocado and/or grilled chicken.
Recipe Step by Step
Step 1. Make the Croutons
Toast the torn bread and garlic cloves in olive oil until they’re golden brown and crispy.
Step 2. Make the Dressing
The dressing is so easy to make! Simply whisk together all of the ingredients. Add a few tablespoons of water to thin out the dressing until it is a pourable consistency.
Step 3. Assemble + Serve
Cut the little gems in half lengthwise. Pour the dressing over the lettuce, then top with the tomatoes, radish, hard-boiled egg, onion, chives, and warm croutons. Season the whole salad with salt and pepper, serve immediately!
FAQs and Expert Tips
Little gem lettuce is a hybrid of romaine lettuce and butter lettuce. It’s hearty, crisp, and sweet. Little gem lettuce is great for so many types of salads, it’s rippled leaves hold onto dressings and vinaigrettes perfectly. If you can’t find little gem lettuce at your local market, romaine is a good substitute.
Yep! You can absolutely substitute feta or goat’s cheese if you don’t like blue cheese.
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Little Gem Wedge Salad with Bacon, Blue Cheese, and Warm Garlic Croutons
Ingredients
Croutons
- 2 c torn day old bread
- 1/4 c olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
Dressing
- 1/2 c whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1/2 c crumbled blue cheese plus extra for serving
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 3 tbsp chopped chives plus extra for serving
- 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
- salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Salad
- 4 heads little gem lettuce
- 8 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
- 3 hard-boiled eggs grated or finely chopped
- 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
- 1 c cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 radishes thinly sliced
Instructions
Croutons:
- Heat a saute pan or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil to the pan, once it's hot add in the torn bread and garlic cloves. Cook, stirring frequently until the croutons are golden brown and crispy. Transfer the croutons to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb the excess oil. Season with salt. If you need to re-warm the croutons just pop them in a 300F oven for 5 minutes.
Dressing:
- To prepare the dressing whisk together all of the ingredients in a bowl. Use the whisk to break up any large chunks of blue cheese. The dressing will be very thick, add 2-3 tablespoons of water to thin it to a pourable consistency.
Salad:
- Cut the little gems in half lengthwise then arrange them on a platter. Top each half with a generous amount of dressing followed by hard-boiled egg, crumbled bacon, sliced tomatoes, onion, radish, crumbled blue cheese, chopped chives, and lastly the warm croutons. Serve immediately!
Notes
- Little Gem Lettuce: Use romaine if you can’t find Little Gem.
- Blue Cheese: Feta or Goat Cheese will work.
- Chives: Scallions may be substituted for chives.
- Yogurt: Sour cream or creme fraiche.
- Bacon: Turkey bacon or you can skip the bacon altogether if you prefer a vegetarian salad.
